老是 (lǎo shì) — how to say "always" in Chinese

老是

Always, constantly

frequency adverb

How to use it

Goes before the verb.

他老是忘带钥匙。

tā lǎo shì wàng dài yào shi

He always forgets his keys.

Rule: Using "always" as a complaint with "老是 (lǎoshì)" →

Character composition

老

old

是

to be

Radicals / Keys

日

Sun

#72 · rì · 4 strokes

老

Old

#125 · lǎo · 6 strokes

Synonyms

Collocations

老是迟到

lǎoshì chídào

always be late

老是忘记

lǎoshì wàngjì

always forget

老是生病

lǎoshì shēngbìng

always get sick

Examples

你老是忘记带钥匙,真麻烦。

You always forget to bring your keys, it's really troublesome.

他老是迟到。

He is always late.

Writing

Try remembering 老是

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Frequently asked questions

How to say always in Mandarin?

"always" in Chinese is 老是 (lǎo shì).

Lao shi meaning Chinese

老是 (lǎo shì) means "Always, constantly".

Always in Chinese pinyin

It is pronounced lǎo shì (written as lao shi, laoshi). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "always" in Chinese characters?

It is written 老是: 老 has 6 strokes, 是 has 9 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.

What HSK 3.0 level is 老是?

老是 is on the HSK 3.0 level 4 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.

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Grammar with 老是

More HSK 3.0 level 4 words